Prior art thin-wire arrays are used in a large number of devices, and have been found particularly suited for use in small or densely structured computer devices, such as sensors, memory devices, and logic chips.
To address this need for thin-wire arrays, thin-wire arrays have been created using photolithography. As computer devices get smaller and smaller, however, the wires of these arrays need to be thinner and more closely spaced. Photolithography has so far not proven to be an adequate method to create very thin and closely spaced arrays of wires.
To address this need for thinner arrays of wires, two ways of creating them have been used. One of these prior-art ways uses an etched superlattice as a mold for imprint lithography. The other uses an etched superlattice and physical vapor deposition to fabricate nanowire arrays.
Prior-art etched-superlattice imprint lithography is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,407,443. This example of imprint lithography is typically associated inconveniently with subsequent lift-off processing and may ultimately have limited process capability. It also uses a nano-imprinting step, which has so far not been consistently and successfully used in a production atmosphere.
Prior-art physical vapor deposition uses an atomic beam to directly deposit material on a surface of an etched superlattice. This deposited material is then physically transferred to a substrate. This method, however, produces oddly shaped wires, which can create various structural and usage difficulties. Prior-art physical vapor deposition also can require processing in an Ultra-High Vacuum (“UHV”), which can be costly to use and would restrict the usage of materials that are incompatible with UHV processing.
There is, therefore, a need for a technique for manufacturing arrays of thinner wires that is reliable, less expensive, more reproducible, and more production-friendly than permitted by present-day techniques.
The same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features.